1. What are you looking forward to the most in your new role as Director of Sales?

I’m most excited to build our team and resources. Frankly, we’ve outkicked our coverage in terms of all the tremendous success our community has achieved in booking major events like the Super Bowl, the Final Four, X Games, NCAA Championships, USA Volleyball, the WNBA All-Star Game and more. Imagine what we can do with more team members and more resources at our disposal. It’s pretty exciting to picture what we can accomplish together – the future is very bright!

2. How do you think past experiences have prepared you for this role?

My experience strategizing and compiling bids as well as playing a key role to plan and execute major events like the Super Bowl, Final Four, X Games, USA Volleyball and many others, has helped me gain a unique perspective in terms of identifying what our customers true needs are in order to stage a successful event in Minneapolis. In addition, working on these bids has allowed me an opportunity to collaborate with the leadership at our key venue partners including the Minneapolis Convention Center, U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Center and the University of Minnesota. Our shared wins have really strengthened our relationships and I’m proud of the work we have done so far. It sets us up for more success in the future.

3. How did you get into the industry?

As I was finishing up my undergraduate degree and playing football at the University of St. Thomas, I landed an internship with the Mall of America Tourism Department. Doug Killian and his team were great mentors and introduced me to the exciting industry. Right after college I was able to begin my career with the Bloomington CVB working the sports market for that community. I immediately loved the industry because it combines two of my passions, sports and travel.

4. What are you hoping to achieve in your new role?

I’m hoping to build on the recent successes we have had as a department and continue to grow with more events and partnerships. Part of that growth strategy includes generating more awareness and revenue so I’m excited that we just announced the first-ever Minnesota Sports Awards event to be held at the newly renovated Target Center on December 13th. It will be a great celebration of the best in Minnesota sports over the last year for amateur and professional sports athletes and moments that inspired us. I would invite your readers to visit our website to nominate their favorite athletes and to buy tickets now.

Tenure has its rewards. Ten-year employee Andrew Reh moved into the chief operating offi cer and general manager role at Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire last fall. He worked through the ranks as director of food and beverage, executive chef and vice president of resort services before taking over the top spot.